How to Appeal to the Decisive Donor
Are you on track to ensuring your church’s growth this year? One of the most important things for pastors and leaders to be aware of is that each donor is different, and so they should also tailor the way they appeal for help and financial gifts to meet their needs.
How do you know the best practices for growing the donors who are in your own church communities? By getting to know their personalities, understanding why they make certain decisions, and learning how to appeal to them.
In our Donor Personality Quiz, we learned about the Type Four personality, more commonly known in church and nonprofit communities as a Decisive Donor. In this article, we teach you practical ways to appeal to this type. Use these tips in your brainstorming sessions, fundraising, and to update your giving strategy.
The Decisive Donor Recap
Just to recap, the Decisive Donor, as the name implies, likes being in charge through decision-making. It is possible that you have a few of these personality types on your church boards and leadership groups already. Or, that you can identify the following traits in the donors whom you are growing to support the church.
The following terms describe a Decisive Donor best. Do you notice any of these personality types in your church or community?
- Romantic
- Creative
- Self-conscious
- Influential
- Clear-sighted
- Firm
- Critical
- Moody
- Passionate
- Curious
- Information-hungry
- Decision-makers
- Leaders
- Strong
- Decisive
Notes for Pastors and Leaders Managing the Decisive Donor
This expressive and dramatic type is a valuable church member and donor. Don’t worry if they sometimes come across as self-absorbed and temperamental. It is common for problems at work or in their professional lives to be reflected in the commitment they give to the church.
During their downtimes, how can you help support these folks who give you financial support? Here are some ideas:
- Be there for them, whether in person or in spirit.
- Uplift them through encouragement and prayer.
- Be wise. Know when it is not the time to ask for large gifts.
- Never make them feel obliged to attend church.
- Give them the space they need, while letting them know you are there if they need you.
- Give them the option to attend online services.
- Stay in touch through your digital platforms such as Zoom video conferences.
- Plan to answer all of their questions as they arise. Consider the details that would be important to their understanding.
Top Tips for Appealing to the Decisive Donor
When preparing to communicate your giving needs to a specific type of decision-maker, you must wisely tailor your approach to appeal to each of the different types. We cover this more in our in-depth study of the Nine Donor Personalities. The following tips are specifically geared to the Decisive Donor, who must be dealt with differently.
Consider carefully what different donors need to hear, and how they want to hear it. If the donor personality type changes, you can also alter your strategies—including the approach you use to fundraise.
Decision-makers are tough to please. But once you learn how to appeal to them, you might just have a recurring giver. Learn the following best approaches for appealing to them and thanking them, and you will be one step ahead on the donor journey.
Remember that your donor might be a church colleague or a CEO and executive in their company. Or, they could be a housewife with the power to influence their husband’s financial decisions and charity gifts.
The type of donor, while varied in personality, shares some of the same traits, so knowing the following concepts will help you better communicate with the Decisive Donor type.
Learn Their Language
To get this type of donor behind your most important church missions, you must use familiar language. Don’t assume that they know all the church lingo already. Do some research before crafting your fundraising letters or in-person appeals. Avoid using church jargon or acronyms they don’t understand or quoting scripture that they are not familiar with. All of the above may make you sound out of touch as a church leader. You need to be real, and relatable.
Be Clear with Your Research
Being exhaustive in your research is one way to mirror the Decisive Donor and understand the way they think. What do we mean by this? Let’s say you are raising funds for the new orphanage building. In your donation letter, you must have done enough research to present the exact needs and monetary funding required. The Decisive Donor type wants to see that you have constructed your appeal properly, and they don’t miss those little details! Make your fundraising letter comprehensive and crisp. When presenting it to a potential donor, it needs to cover every angle they might think of.
Persuade with Effective Communication
Never take for granted how busy your Decisive Donor may be. Your financial appeal letter, while being comprehensive, must also be straight to the point. You must be extremely clear on the ways their gift will go further and make a difference in the church. Also, prepare to be grilled by this type of donor with an array of questions. To avoid wasting time on both sides, try to pre-consider the questions they may ask regarding donations and have your answers ready. Your style of communication and approach should match their direct yet inquisitive one.
Learn to Recognize Their Needs
We mentioned before how this type of donor can at times be moody and temperamental. To work on better communications with them, make sure that your church leaders are trained for these types of personalities. One key here is being flexible and adaptable. This mindset of being ready to deal with any type of personality will help you meet their needs and be a better manager. Being able to recognize the requirements of the Decisive Donor type will show them just how valuable you can be as their pillar of spiritual support.
Always Point Them Back to the Foundation
As this type of donor will have many questions, it is best to back up all of your church missions and projects with a Scriptural foundation. This goes for teaching them about basic giving principles, such as tithing. Be sure that your church leaders are well-versed in the Biblical foundations of giving, so that they can be “ready to give an answer to him that asks.”
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to every man who asketh you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.—1 Peter 3:15
Be a Better Fundraiser with DonorWerx Solutions
For more insights into the various Donor personalities, and how you can appeal to each one, read our other detailed articles online. At DonorWerx, we help you navigate the basic communication skills that are essential for every Executive Pastor and church manager.
Learn how to attract new donors, retain existing donors, and grow your church substantially this year. For more information, you can schedule a Discovery Call with our support team or check out our updated website and resources. We look forward to helping you Get started on your path to success!
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Email Teaser
The Decisive Donor is one of the interesting donor personality types you may have recognized from our Donor Personality Quiz. Dealing with this type of giver can be challenging, but also a great joy. In this article, we list a few best practices for appealing effectively to the Decisive Donor.
